Hidden
by shinigamigirl196
Summary: Maeve just wanted to be normal, the last thing she expected was that weird box coming out of her mirror. She was just your average fifteen year old; trying to make a long distance relationship work, missing her brothers, reading up on Ancient Egypt, and playing around with a magic book. She didn't expect to be caught up in a past life and a mysterious soul clinging to her boyfriend


**Disclaimer: Takahashi Kazuki owns Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Hidden: Chapter One: She Who Is Not Seen**

* * *

"I didn't know loving someone could hurt so much," Priestess Mana whispered to her fellow priestess, Isis, her eyelashes thick with tears.

Isis' eyes softened as she gazed upon the youth before her. It had been six years since the death of Pharaoh Atem, but still the wound on Mana's heart bled. Isis had been well aware of Mana's love for the pharaoh, and his love for her; she would have been a fine Queen of Egypt at one time.

Isis knelt down so she was sitting next to the young priestess. Mana had grown more beautiful over the years, and several lords had already beseeched Pharaoh Seto for her hand in marriage, but, out of respect for his cousin, the king had refused them all.

Isis sighed, gazing upwards into the night sky, sorrow clawing at her heart. "Mana…did you know I loved Mahad?"

Mana's head whipped around in surprise at this new information about her deceased master. "What?" she squeaked.

Isis spared her dear friend a kind smile. "Yes, and he knew not of my deep affection. I believe he may have suspected…that day, but I was afraid that if I acted true to my heart, it would be shattered."

Mana's eyes filled with sorrow.

"_I will come back to you, Mana, this I promise you. Not even death can part us." _Mana's lips still tingled from the brief kiss he had bestowed upon her lips, before he disappeared.

"At least our loves are at peace in Osiris' domain. Take comfort in that."

Mana gritted her teeth and clenched her fingers into a fist; that was a lie. Atem hadn't only given up his life to end Zorc, but his soul as well. His soul did not make it to Osiris' realm, instead it had been sealed inside the Millennium Puzzle, which had then been shattered into tiny puzzle pieces and locked inside a tomb, where dangerous traps protected it from outside influences.

_You can make the difference,_ a voice whispered in her ear, her voice, or –more specifically- her Ka's voice. _You can be a great guide, a great love; your story is not yet complete._

"I'm sorry, Isis," Mana said turning to her friend. "But it looks like you're going to need a new priestess for the Millennium Ring; do make sure my things fall into the right hands."

"What-" Isis' eyes widened in horror as Mana glowed with a bright golden light, her form disintegrating into nothingness. The Millennium Ring, no longer hanging from Mana's neck, fell to the floor with a clatter, closely followed by her bracelets and armbands, one of which shattered into tiny pieces.

Isis swallowed thickly, wiping the tear tracks from her cheeks, whispering, "I will ensure your things are given to the correct person, my sister."

* * *

"Se-to! Se-to!" A pair of small hands wrapped around the boy's eyes. "Guess! Guess!"  
But Seto wasn't much for guessing, but he smiled to his younger sister and pulled her over his head. Maeve helped in surprise as she tumbled into the grass. Seto almost laughed at the surprised look on her face, but she laughed instead, and their younger brother, Mokuba, joined in with her laughter.  
"I love you, Seto!" Maeve laughed, throwing her arms around his neck, beaming brightly. "Forever and ever!"  
"And I love you, Maeve." Her beaming smile could have outshone the sun.

Yugi Mutou was tracing a puzzle piece into the sand in the sandbox gloomily, when another hand added a second piece, connecting to his. He looked up in surprise, meeting a grey-eyed gaze. She was his age, but to his surprise, she was the same height as him; his family was a bit shorter than the average family, but his father had been tall, so he had high hopes that his height would increase as he got older. Her spiky brown hair blew softly in the wind, her eyes lighting up. "Hello, I'm Maeve."

"I'm Yugi," the boy said in surprise.

"Do you like puzzles?" Maeve asked, blinking innocently.

"I love puzzles," Yugi said with a shy smile.

"Cool!" Yugi almost jumped in surprise when Maeve threw her hands up in the air in exuberance, her smile wide and bright. "Want to play a game?"

"Sure!"

The pair ended up playing their game well over an hour, before Maeve's older brother –though not by much- came to pick her up. But, she made Yugi's day by declaring him her best friend and giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek –resulting in a very heavy blush for Yugi-, dancing away to her brother's side, sliding her hand easily into his.

She kicked her feet into the air, skipping next to Seto, while Mokuba clung to his back, fast asleep. Maeve peered up at her brother's face; he wasn't much taller than her at the age of ten, with blue eyes a brown hair. The only thing she shared with her older brother was her hair color; her eyes were identical in color to her younger brother, something she wasn't surprised about, as she was the middle child and her appearance was a mix of their features.

Maeve squeezed his fingers, gazing into his cerulean orbs inquisitively. "Seto?"

"Yes, Maeve?" Her brother's voice was tired as he responded to her voice, giving her a gentle squeeze in return. This only served to make her feel guiltier. Seto had been studying extensively, though not by choice, and he hadn't seen either of his siblings in over two weeks, so he somehow managed to smuggle them out of the Kaiba mansion to take them to the park. It had been fun while it lasted, but now the worry had begun to take root.

"Seto, are going to get in trouble for this?"

Seto said nothing and Maeve's head drooped, she knew it. But she forced a happy smile on her face, hiding the dread she felt inside.

* * *

Maeve's eyes flashed open and she thrashed around in her bed, tangling up in her covers before landing on her head on the carpet beside her bed. Maeve groaned, clapping her hands to her skull as she righted herself. She tried to remember the strange dream she had, but the longer she thought about it, the faster the memories left. The only distinct images she could recall were a plum, a snake, and a pair of amethyst eyes identical to her best friend's.

A sharp knocking jarred her out of her thoughts and she struggled to her feet, muttering mutinously under her breath as she opened the door to yell at that stupid butler that worked for her cruel stepfather, when she came face to face with an identical grey-eyed gaze.

She blinked as if trying to see her younger brother more clearly. "Moki?" she asked blankly. "Hon, it's…" she glanced at her watch, her expression becoming exasperated, "two in the morning, what on earth are you doing up?"

The younger boy shrugged his shoulders dejectedly. "Couldn't sleep. Can I stay with you?"

Maeve yawned widely and scrubbed tiredly at her eyes, allowing her younger sibling inside.

"_How am I supposed to do this without Master Mahad to guide me?"_

Maeve blinked drowsily, taking in her surroundings in a numbed surprise. The last she recalled, she had fallen asleep next to her brother, but now she was alone and it was dark and cramped, except for…

Maeve blinked at the brightness as she stood up straight and was surprised to find that she had been inside a vase.

"Ah!"

Maeve yelped in shock as the vase fell over with her still in it. But it didn't stop there. The vase continued to roll until it finally came to a stop in front of the staircase, and a bit unfortunately, Maeve tumbled out of it and down a flight of stairs. She gave a startled "Oof!" as she stood, wobbling on bruised limbs.

Maeve leaned heavily against the wall. Why did it smell so sweet all of a sudden? It was making her…so…sleepy…

Tears streamed from Maeve's eyes in small rivulets, her nails clawed at the man who had grabbed her, tossing her unceremoniously into her room, screaming hysterically: "Seto! Seto! Where's Seto?! Where's my brother?! Where's Moki?! I want my brothers, you hear me! I WANT MY BROTHERS!"

By now, this was routine. Maeve had been treated as a hostage for the past week and a half, but she knew her…housing arrangements…were better than most. Maeve cursed her stepfather, as he was the reason she was in this mess; Gozaburo Kaiba had made a very powerful enemy when he annoyed Maximillion J. Pegasus, but he should have realized that taking the little girl would have no affect on the man. However, Maeve did hold sway over her brothers, something that would come in handy in the years following Gozaburo's suicide. Losing Maeve broke Seto Kaiba's heart; some could say it was the catalyst that sealed the good and kind Seto away, bringing forth the supposedly cold and unfeeling Seto. But the two Kaiba brothers never forgot, they always remembered the little girl that had been stolen from them and they would get her back one day, whether Pegasus allowed her to leave or not.

* * *

Maeve frowned at the computer screen, her grey eyes narrowing in suspicion. "I hate you," she finally decided, wrinkling her nose in distaste at his choice of a monster.

Yugi Mutou laughed at his best friend. "No, you don't; unless you aren't going to play anything…"

Maturely, Maeve stuck her tongue out her strangely-haired friend, but she scanned the remaining cards in her hand all the same.

_If I play my Flame Champion, he'll wipe her out with his Dark Magician…I could use De-Spell to get rid of the three hundred point bonus Dark Magician got from the Book of Secret Arts magic card…unless_…

Maeve smiled brightly. _That's perfect!_

"I'll play my Flame Champion in Attack Mode and I'll place two cards face down," Maeve said with a wink. "Beat that handsome!"

Yugi's cheeks darkened with color, but he continued with his play. "Dark Magician attacks your Flame Champion, bringing your life points down to…" Maeve waited patiently for him to calculate, musing to herself; _he looks cute when he's thinking_. Once she realized what she'd thought, her cheeks turned cherry-red.

"Six hundred life points for you and one thousand five hundred for me," he said finally looking up at her, startled by her appearance. "Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm-" Maeve meant to say fine, but the feeling came back once more, as if she was drowning in air. She leaned over the side of the desk as she convulsed, expelling air from her lungs, only recovering after several minutes had passed.

Yugi's amethyst eyes shone with sympathy as he waited for her coughing fit to pass; he'd seen her like this before. His hand twitched slightly as if he wanted to rub her back soothingly, waiting for her lungs to get better, but then he remembered she was just an image on the computer, and he had no way of knowing where she really was.

"_Gone, but not forgotten",_ was what she liked to say. _"I can bear the solitude, knowing I will always have someone to talk to," _and then she'd grinned. _"You're the best friend a girl could ever have."_

Only one other person knew of her 'condition', and that was her tutor. Yugi didn't know his name; because she always called him "Professor," but he was sure her professor had something to do with her recent obsession with Egypt. He knew Maeve would give anything to be able to speak to her brothers, but sadly that just wasn't possible. Even in her condition…

Maeve smiled sheepishly, tugging on a strand of her spiky brown hair. "Sorry 'bout that…I activate my Just Desserts trap card, so you lose five hundred life points for Dark Magician and Celtic Guardian…so that leaves you with five hundred life points. And then I activate my Lady Assailant of Flames, she can inflict eight hundred points of Direct Damage on your life points if I move the top three cards in the deck to the graveyard, bringing your life points down to zero."

Yugi didn't seem to mind his loss, if anything he was more concerned with her than his defeat. "You like to draw things out; you only win fast if something's bothering you."

Maeve sighed, facing her chair sideways, gazing off to the side forlornly.

"Is it your dreams?" Yugi asked. "Are they getting worse?"

"_Pharaoh!"_

"_Mana! No-!" _

Maeve flinched slightly at ghostly voices that echoed in her head.

"Yugi…do you ever feel like you've forgotten something?" Maeve asked quietly, "Something really important?"

"Sometimes…why?"

Yugi was starting to get worried when her eyes drifted out of focus. "I feel like I don't belong here, like I'm a bit too different."

"Don't say that!" interjected Yugi. "No one's perfect, but I really like that you're different from anyone else I know; You're clumsy, playful, caring, and you're really open about how you feel, I love that about you!"

Maeve's cheeks pinked, but that was nothing compared to the color of Yugi's face. It didn't really matter in the end, because Maeve's smile made it all worth it.

"You know…if I wasn't in this hellhole, I would totally date you," she told him honestly, and a bit bluntly.

"You would?" Yugi said in surprise; he didn't really think he was Maeve's type.

"Absolutely." She sighed sadly. "I wish I could see you every day."

"Maybe I should wish for that when I complete the Millennium Puzzle," Yugi joked despite his embarrassment.

That startled her and she laughed. "That's very sweet of you, Hon, but I'll find my own way out; you should wish for something more worthwhile."

* * *

Grey eyes widened in shock. "Who are you?!" demanded Maeve to the woman who had suddenly appeared in her mirror. She was Egyptian, wearing a golden headdress centered with a falcon, garbed in white, surprise filling her blue eyes.

She inclined her head. "I am Isis, priestess to Pharaoh Seto, and bearer of the Millennium Necklace."

"Um…okay…" Maeve said, completely lost. "I'm Maeve, sister of Seto…yeah; my name's totally not as impressive."

Isis smiled mysteriously.

"What are you doing in my mirror?"

Isis did not speak as the surface began to ripple, a golden box slipping through to fall in the sink, and when Maeve looked again, the woman had disappeared.

"Weird…" she muttered to herself, coughing loudly as she removed the chest from the sink, eyeing it curiously as she placed it on the bed, opening it cautiously. Its contents surprised her; two bracelets that extended over the wrist and up the arm by a good three inches, a pure gold armband, a small ring, and what looked like a spell book and a wand. But then she caught sight of something else; they were shaped like Yugi's puzzle pieces for his Millennium Puzzle. Maeve loved a good puzzle, but she didn't even see the ghostly image of a girl almost identical to her smile behind her.

* * *

Maeve's stomach convulsed as she hung her head over the toilet, bracing herself on the toilet seat as bile emptied out of her mouth. She flushed the sick and took the towel from the counter and wiped her mouth, collapsing onto the ground. Maeve lay there for a long time breathing heavily.

"This place is toxic," she muttered to herself, gingerly placing a clammy hand to her forehead. In a way she was right; the impenetrable fortress –as that was how she saw it- inside which she had remained for years was poisoning her from the inside out, and she didn't have the heart to tell Yugi, not after he'd agreed to be her boyfriend, despite how far away she was.

Maeve yearned for that pair of amethyst orbs, that wildly colored hair of blonde, black, and purple, and the bright smile that was always on his face, but all she had was a photograph of her and her best friend when they were children, arms wrapped around each other as they beamed with happiness. Maeve's slim fingers traced Yugi Mutou's face, trying to imagine seeing him in the flesh, because his face on a screen just wasn't enough. Maeve smiled; she doubted he'd gotten much taller, something she was grateful for as she had barely grown, her growth rate being exceedingly slow. She had changed a lot since they'd last seen each other, she knew. Long since she had completed the little puzzle, an Eye of Horus had been painted the onto the skin of her arm just below her shoulder, the eye that was carved into the Millennium Puzzle was tattooed across her wrist, a falcon rested behind her right ear, and a lotus flower was centered at the back of her waist, swirling vines stretching from either side.

Everything had gone utterly pear shaped since she'd completed that stupid arm band, and now the spirit of an Ancient Egyptian magician by the name of Mana was connected to her own, but surprisingly she didn't mind too much- Maeve chalked it up to her being lonely, but half the time she wasn't sure.

She held up the Duel Monsters card in front of her blue-grey eyes and sighed sadly.

_"I have something to give you!" Yugi sang, hiding a small package behind his back. _

_Maeve blinked innocently for a moment before narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "Who told you it was my birthday today?"_

_Yugi looked equally surprised. "No one did, I just wanted to give you something."_

_"Oh," she said in surprise, but she smiled to let him know she wasn't angry with him. "Should I close my eyes?"_

_"Yes!" Her best friend's purple eyes lit up with happiness._

_Her eyelids dutifully slid shut as she felt something small being placed in her outstretched palms._

_"Can I open my eyes now?"_

_"Yes," he whispered in her ear, causing her eyes to shoot open, her cheeks to enflame, and off balancing her, sending her tumbling off the bench._

_"Ah!"_

_Yugi raised an eyebrow as she stood and righted herself, only a pink flush dusting her cheeks now._

_"You saw nothing!" she proclaimed in what she thought was a threatening sort of voice, but coming from a child, it didn't seem so impressive, but Yugi held up his hands in surrender._

_Yugi always managed to surprise her, and he did this time as well. Maeve held the Duel Monsters Card up to the light, reading its inscription: "Dark Magician Girl?"_

_"She's the apprentice of my Dark Magician," Yugi explained. "When they're both on the field, they're stronger. So whenever you feel down, you can always remember how strong the two magicians are together, like you and me."_

_Maeve gave him a watery smile. "That's really sweet, Yugi." And then she did something neither of them expected; she leaned over and gave him a chaste peck on the cheek.  
_  
Maeve puffed air out of her cheeks, her brown hair fanning out around her. She was nothing special, just a piece on the chessboard, but an important piece to the game nonetheless. She was a good duelist, you had to be if you were the little sister of Seto Kaiba, but not ranked as one of the best –not that she'd participated in any-, as she had a greater interest in Egyptology. Maeve curled up on her side, feeling immensely overheated, but then also freezing at the same time. This place was killing her, if she didn't get out in a matter of months, she had no illusions of what would happen to her.

* * *

"You have an interest in Ancient Egypt?" a voice asked and a teenage girl straightened up in surprise.

The girl had been staring at the painting –the only form of decoration in the room- on the wall, and she jumped violently when she turned and found herself gazing into cool grey iris.'

She gulped. "It's beautiful and in great condition."

The owner of the grey eyes turned them on the picture, her lips twitching slightly. "Yes. My professor has a gift at restoring papyrus."

"Miss Kaiba?" the girl asked nervously, "Might I inquire something?"

Maeve made a noncommittal sound, so the new girl took this as assent.

"Why don't you have anything else in this room?"

Maeve's expression darkened slightly as she lifted her eyes from the image of the Judgment of the Dead to the deck in her hands. Blue eyes followed hers, blinking in shock; the image painted across the one on the front had a remarkable resemblance to the middle Kaiba child.

"I don't like this place," Maeve said finally, "So, why make seem more homely?"

She sighed. "You're obviously not here of your own free will. Care to share?"

"How-?" The girl asked startled.

Maeve raised an eyebrow. "You're upset, so you obviously don't want to be here. What's your name?"

"I'm Kisa Rah," she said, but she said it so fast that Maeve looked at her oddly.

"You're name's Kisara?"

Mana gasped inside their link. _Oh my! She must be Kisara's incarnate!_

_Kisara?_ Maeve thought back. _So her name _is _Kisara?_

Mana frowned in thought. _I doubt it; when you're reincarnated you rarely share the same name as your past incarnation._

_But you knew someone three thousand years ago who was just like her, right?_ Maeve asked.

Mana nodded fervently. _Our meeting was only brief, though. I do know that Pharaoh Seto knew her as a child though, and that she housed the Ka of what you know as the Blue Eyes White Dragon._

_What happened to her?_ asked Maeve suddenly.

_She was killed protecting Seto while he was still a priest._ Mana said sadly.

"Rah is my last name," Kisa explained, "I'm just Kisa."

Maeve nodded. "I'm Maeve, nice to meet you."

* * *

Yugi Mutou shut the door quietly, setting his school bag gently on the ground when his grandfather called up the stairs to him: "Yugi, there's a friend on the phone!"

"Okay!" he called back, picking up the wireless, thinking it was one of his schoolmates, undoubtedly asking about homework. "Hello?"

He was pleasantly surprised by the familiar albeit tired voice coming from the other end. "Hey, Yu, it's me."

"Maeve!" Real joy crept into his voice at the sound of his long time friend, and recently girlfriend.

"Ta-da!" She laughed from the speaker. "I stole the phone again; hopefully he won't notice until later."

"But won't you get in trouble again?" asked Yugi in concern.

He could almost see her smile. "Hon, just enjoy me while it lasts."

Yugi flushed in embarrassment. "Right, sorry."

Maeve's voice was now filled with amusement. "You're blushing, aren't you?"

"I am not!" Yugi stoutly denied, pulling his unfinished Millennium Puzzle towards him as he spoke, but his cheeks still had a dark tinge.

"Damn," she muttered, "Now I really wish I was there; you're really cute when you blush."

"Are _you_ blushing?"

"Perceptive!" she said in a mocking gasp, before taking on a slightly embarrassed tone. "But, yes, I'm blushing…How's the Millennium Puzzle going?"

"Good," Yugi said, frowning in concentration, "At least, better than the last time you called."

"That's good," Maeve sounded genuinely pleased, but then, she had always loved games, and it was one of the things they'd bonded over as children. "You're really good at figuring puzzles out, Yugi, I'm sure you have this in the bag."

"Thanks," Yugi said with a smile, his violet eyes softening, "I miss you."

"I miss you, too, Yugi," Maeve whispered into the speaker, "…but could you do me a favor?"

"Sure! Anything!" His easy reply came through the speaker.

Maeve took a shaky breath. "If I told you some words, would you write them down and give them to my brother?"

Her request tugged at his heart strings. "I'd be honored."

Yugi could hear Maeve laughing on the other end, out of relief he knew. "You're an old soul, Yugi, and you have a truly beautiful heart. I'm glad we're...you know."

"Me too," Yugi said, his cheeks brighter than beets.

* * *

Yugi cradled the newly completed Millennium Puzzle in his hands, a beaming smile on his face.

"If you ever finish that puzzle," Maeve had once told him, "I _will_ kiss you." Yugi had doubted that she was serious at first, but know he was having second thoughts.

But Maeve wasn't here anymore, her calls had been more spaced out, and she was getting sicker.

"Why don't you just run away?" Yugi had once asked her.

Maeve had given a hacking cough. "He'd probably just take Mokuba as a replacement, and I'm not about to let that happen."

It was later that day, when Yugi's friend, Joey Wheeler caught sight of the picture in Yugi's wallet as the boy in question pulled out a bill to pay for a snack. The girl was about as tall as Yugi -which was saying something, as Yugi was pretty short- with grey eyes and spiky brown hair. She was hanging upside down from a tree branch wearing a tight black shirt and jeans with a belt that Joey saw it held her Duel Monsters cards. She was blowing a kiss at the camera.

"Is that you're girlfriend?" Joey teased.

Yugi looked at his friend in surprise, blushing slightly as Joey pointed to the picture. "Maeve…" He wanted to say she was, but he didn't know if that was safe, considering her condition. "She's a great friend."

"How come I've never seen her around?" asked Joey, feeling a tiny bit jealous.

"She's..." Yugi thought for a long moment, struggling to come up with a good answer, seeing as he really didn't know. "She's got a complicated home life."

"Ah..." Joey nodded in understanding.

* * *

"Joey! Earth to Joey! Hey, are you in there? It's your turn," Yugi inquired jokingly with a grin to Joey.

"Aw! Isn't he cute when he's thinking?" Tristan Taylor, another of Yugi's friends, said mockingly as he head locked Joey.

"Hey, Tristan, Yugi here's teachin' me how to play Duel Monsters," Joey informed his friend.

But apparently lack of brains could occur through exposure, as Tristan said: "Drooling Monsters?"

"Duel Monsters, ya nimrod!" Joey snapped, pushing his childhood friend off of him.

"Sheesh!"

"They've been at it for hours. Joey's starting to get the hang of the game, but Yugi's like an expert!" Tèa told Tristan.

"Okay, Yugi," Joey said, finally choosing a card to put into play. "It's time to duel!"

"See each card has an attack number and a defense number," explained Tèa, "first player to eliminate their opponent's life points wins the duel."

"Pretty good move, huh, Yugi?" Joey asked smugly to his friend, referring to his card which had eight hundred attack points and four hundred defense points.

"Yup!" Yugi said with a smile, "Pretty good move, but not good enough!" He placed his own card on the table; a dragon with fifteen hundred attack points and eight hundred defense points.

"_What?!" _Joey dropped the rest of his cards and gaped at Yugi. "Thanks a lot! A card that powerful totally wipes me out!"

"Whoa, you stink at this game!" teased Tristan.

Joey grumbled, but Yugi smiled, wondering if Maeve would ever meet his friends, and if she would like them; he believed she would, though she had a habit of poking people in their weak spots before she deemed them worthy of her friendship, and Yugi was secretly glad she had never done that towards him. Little did Yugi know that he and Maeve would meet for the first time in many years very soon afterwards…

* * *

**AN: As to why Maeve calls people 'Hon': Maeve starts out as an impressionable toddler, so she often repeats what she hears, and one is a woman calling her husband 'Hon', but 'Hon' is just an abbreviation for 'honey' so Maeve uses it to refer to whoever she sees fit.**


End file.
